Beyond the Battlefields of Laos

By

Daniel Lovering

Updated Jan. 28, 2000 1:26 a.m. ET

M y journey through Laos began early one morning when I boarded an enormous Russian bus in Vientiane that was packed with local farmers, sacks of rice, dried fish and clucking chickens. For hours the bus traversed a mountain road going north, lurching between gears and spewing plumes of diesel exhaust. At the end of the day we reached Vang Vieng, a dusty town halfway between Vientiane and Luang Prabang.

Vang Vieng isn't much more than a few hardscrabble roads dotted with guest houses, a natural stopping point for anyone...